For the first time, a city in Idaho has passed protections banning discrimination based on gender identity for its employees. The Boise City Council took action in mid-May to amend the employee policy manual to include transgender people. Hewlett-Packard, one of the larger employers in the area, already includes such protections.

The Common Council of South Bend, Indiana, has held public hearings on adding sexual orientation and gender identity to their city anti-discrimination laws; a vote is expected on the measure in late June.

Sadly, Vermont Governor, Jim Douglas, vetoed the Gender Identity and Expression Non-Discrimination Act, which would have made Vermont the ninth state to include protections for transgender people. Legislators and activists alike note that this makes Douglas the first Vermont governor to veto civil rights legislation. It is very unlikely that supporters will gather sufficient votes to override the veto.

"We are very disappointed in Governor Douglas's decision," said Christopher Kaufman, executive director of the R.U.1.2? Community Center in Burlington. "This bill would have made a huge difference in the lives of transgender and gender non-conforming Vermonters in terms of the basic necessities—access to jobs, housing and services."

Governor Douglas cited concerns about what he saw as vague areas in the bill and noted that the states Human Rights Commission voted 4-1 against supporting the bill. This decision and the veto prompted Charles Kletecka, a member of the Human Rights Commission, to resign in protest.

In California, the state Senate passed a bill requiring public school materials to include the positive contributions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. It would also ban books and instruction that speak negatively about LGBT people. The current law provides parallel rules for schools teaching about racial/ethnic groups and women; the measure would add LGBT people to the list. The bill, authored by state Senator Sheila Kuehl, has attracted a great deal of controversy.

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